Stay connected with the latest technology.

Telecom. Simplified.Simplified Communications will consult with your organization to discover the best telecommunications solutions including voice services of all formats, internet services, and television. With our strategic partnerships, we represent virtually all major carriers, allowing us to provide you with an unbiased experience that will take your business towards your business goals, with no additional fees.

5G technology, the next generation of mobile internet connectivity, is expected to launch across the world by 2020, bringing three types of innovation: greater speed to be able to move more data; lower latency to improve responsiveness; and the ability to connect many devices at once. While many are focused on what they will be able to do with faster smartphones – 5G is expected to provide average download speeds of 1GBps – others are looking toward the innovations 5G will make possible.​“5G will be the platform for invention,” says a PSB Research report commissioned by Qualcomm. The survey found that 91 percent of worldwide respondents expect 5G to generate “new products and services that have yet to be invented,” and 87 percent expect new industries to emerge.

It’s predicted that 5G technology will bring opportunity to many industries:​

Healthcare innovations such as stroke rehab through Virtual Reality, smart bandages that track healing and the opportunity for parents to interact with babies confined to incubators.

Automotive executives foresee 5G being used to provide quick location-based services, collision avoidance, roadside assistance and more. In fact, an autonomous car with 5G technology could hit the brakes with a stopping distance of one inch compared to the 4.6 feet it takes today with 4G.

​5G will also contribute to the Internet-of-Things through machine learning and artificial intelligence, and its evolution will be used with appliances, alarm systems, health monitors, parking meters and traffic signals as well as for ultra-fast wireless delivery of video and data files.

​To learn more about how 5G will work with older generations of technology, contact a Simplified agent today. ​

In 2017, LTE traffic rose to 54 percent of global outbound roaming traffic, surpassing non-LTE data, at 42 percent, for the first time. The milestone was announced in a recent study by Syniverse, a global transaction processor that connects approximately 1,300 mobile service providers, enterprises, ISPs and OTTs in nearly 200 countries and territories. According to the research, in 2017, LTE roaming volume grew 121 percent across six regions. In terms of concentration, the Americas represents 79 percent of the global LTE roaming volume.

“Our data points to the fact that while the rollout of LTE networks is advancing at a healthy rate, the mobile industry must accelerate its efforts to fully capture the 5G opportunity,” said John Wick, Senior Vice President at Syniverse. “Industry attention has been focused on the most innovative technologies of 5G. However, just as crucial for 5G adoption is integrating technologies like IPX to ensure global connectivity and security, which have been important pillars in the success of the mobile industry.”​The increase in LTE roaming has been supported by IPX infrastructure, and as LTE-5G coexistence scenarios are expected to be the norm, IPX will serve as the foundation for global 5G connectivity for billions of “things” via the Internet of Things.

Most mobile consumers today use 3G or 4G/LTE networks. Introduced to the public in 2001, 3G ushered in the smartphone era, while 4G/LTE, introduced in 2009, provided the high-speed connections that make it possible to stream high-definition video on our phones. The next generation, 5G, is expected to be available through some carriers as early as late 2018, with expanded access expected in 2019.5G is projected to bring three main benefits:​

Faster speed: Data transfer speeds are projected to be about 10 times higher with 5G than is possible with 4G.

Shorter delays: 5G should reduce the brief lag time from when data is sent to when it is received (known as latency), making it possible to watch high-speed virtual reality video, among other things, with no delays or glitches.

Increased connectivity: Cell towers equipped with 5G technology would have greatly increased capacity over 4G/LTE, which means more people — and more devices — should be able to communicate at the same time.

We all have a horror story of calling a business with a question or issue. From long hold times and endless routing options to downright rude agents, it can seem like customer service is no longer on most companies’ radar, much less the top of their to-do lists. The good news is that companies who get customer service right can easily differentiate themselves from the competition. As a business owner, it falls to you to set clear phone etiquette expectations and provide regular training for employees. Start with the following simple do's and don'ts.

Be Consistent:Everyone in your company should answer the phone the same way. Provide a script for all employees. Keep the “hello” short and include your business name as well as the employee’s name. “Hello, Bob’s Widgets, this is Sam” will suffice

Keep Quiet: It can be difficult, but staff should never interrupt a caller who has called to complain. Train employees to listen to the entire problem, no matter how long it takes. This makes the customer feel cared for and can usually diffuse the situation

Please Hold While I Transfer You:Train every employee on how to use your phone system. Everyone should know the basics, like hold and transfer. If necessary, post cheat sheets next to every phone

Provide Information:When an employee has to put a customer on hold or transfer to another person, let her know what’s happening. Train staff to give the customer a description of what they're going to do, as well an estimate of how long it will take. For example: "Mrs. Johnson, here's what I'm going to do. After we hang up, I'll immediately call the supplier. It may take me a day or two until I reach the right person. Then I'm going to tell them I need another Widget for you in purple,” and so on.

Smile: It’s true, you can actually hear a smile. And, when you’re on the phone as opposed to face-to-face, your words and inflection are even more important.

Vonage recently introduced its SD-WAN solution, SmartWAN, available to small and medium-size business (SMB) customers using the Vonage Business Cloud. SMBs are now able to run their cloud communications using public broadband connections with Quality-of-Service (QoS). The Vonage SmartWAN service is fully integrated into the company’s cloud-based unified communications services and provides full path QoS for voice and video calls. What’s more, the services are offered in a tiered bandwidth structure, enabling customers to tailor their investments on a per-location basis.

SD-WAN is an architecture that has grown in popularity over the years, largely as a way to create a network connecting branch offices in different locations. In 2015, Vonage launched its SmartWAN, geared toward enterprise customers that use voice, video and data communications for business operations. Since then, nearly 40 percent of the company’s deployments have included the service.​To learn more about how services like SD-WAN may benefit your small- to medium-size business, contact Simplified Communications today.